A comparative analysis of IT outsourcing readiness in the East African community

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University

Abstract

Developing countries are increasingly relying on Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) for their socio-economic development. Many countries have achieved faster gross domestic product (GDP) growth through information technology (IT) outsourcing, which is now largely recognized as a strategic management practice that can provide a competitive advantage in business. The East African Community (EAC) member states are putting in place policies to help improve their overall ICT environment competitiveness. This paper evaluates the current state of IT outsourcing readiness in the EAC countries, and contributes to the outsourcing body of knowledge by establishing a relation between a country’s Networked Readiness Index (NRI) and its readiness for IT outsourcing. This evaluation is performed based on the PROMETHEE method which is very effective at dealing with multi-criteria decision making problems. The results show that Kenya is the most ready country for IT outsourcing in EAC, followed by Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Burundi.

Keywords


Abbot, P. (2013). “How can African countries advance their outsourcing industries: An overview of possible approaches”. The African Journal of Information Systems, 5(1), 2.
Agourram, H. (2009). “Defining information system success in Germany”. International Journal of Information Management, 29(2), 129-137.
Al-Ahmad, W. & Al-Oqaili, A. (2013). “Towards a unified model for successful implementation of outsourcing and reversibility of information systems”. Journal of King Saud University-Computer and Information Sciences, 25(2), 229-240.
AR, E. U. (2012). A Qualitative Model of the Critical Success Factors for the Effectiveness of Information Systems Outsourcing. PhD Thesis, Department of Information systems, Middle East Technical University.
Bahli, B. & Rivard, S. (2003). “The information technology outsourcing risk: a transaction cost and agency theory‐based perspective”. Journal of Information Technology, 18(3), 211-221.
Bilbao-Osorio, B.; Dutta, S. & Lanvin, B. (2013). The global information technology report 2013. Geneva Swetzerland: World Economic Forum and INSEAD.
Chen, Y. H.; Wang, T. C. & Wu, C. Y. (2011). “Strategic decisions using the fuzzy PROMETHEE for IS outsourcing”. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(10), 13216-13222.
Claver, E.; Gonzalez, R.; Gasco, J. & Llopis, J. (2002). “Information systems outsourcing: reasons, reservations and success factors”. Logistics Information Management, 15(4), 294-308.
Coase, R. H. (1937). “The nature of the firm”. Economica, 4(16), 386-405.
Gonzalez, R.; Gasco, J. & Llopis, J. (2005). “Information systems outsourcing reasons in the largest Spanish firms”. International Journal of Information Management, 25(2), 117-136.
Gonzalez, R.; Gasco, J. & Llopis, J. (2009). “Information systems outsourcing reasons and risks: an empirical study”. International Journal of Human and Social Sciences, 4(3), 181-192.
Gonzalez, R.; Gasco, J. & Llopis, J. (2010). “Information systems outsourcing reasons and risks: a new assessment”. Industrial Management and Data Systems, 110(2), 284-303.
Gorla, N. & Chiravuri, A. (2011). “Information systems outsourcing success: a review”. In 2010 International Conference on E-business, Management and Economics, 3, 170-174.
Lacity, M. C.; Khan, S. A. & Willcocks, L. P. (2009). “A review of the IT outsourcing literature: Insights for practice”. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 18(3), 130-146.
Lacity, M. & Rottman, M. (2008). Offshore Outsourcing of IT Work: Client and Supplier Perspectives (Technology, Work and Globalization). Palgrave Macmillan.
Marriott, I. (2007). Gartner’s 30 Leading Locations for Offshore Services. G00153754, Gartner Group.
Martens, B. & Teuteberg, F. (2009). “Why risk management matters in IT outsourcing-A systematic literature review and elements of a research agenda”. 17th European Conference on Information Systems.
Nduwimfura, P. & Zheng, J. (2015a). “A Model for Offshore Information Systems Outsourcing Provider Selection in Developing Countries”. International Business Research, 8(7), p68.
Nduwimfura, P. & Zheng, J. (2015b). “A Review of Information Systems Outsourcing in Africa”. IOSR Journal of Engineering, 5(8), 54-57.
Poppo, L. & Lacity, M. C. (2006). “The normative value of transaction cost economics: what managers have learned about TCE principles in the IT context”. In Information systems outsourcing (pp. 259-282). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Smuts, H.; van der Merwe, A.; Kotzé, P. & Loock, M. (2010, October). “Critical success factors for Information Systems outsourcing management: A software development lifecycle view”. In Proceedings of the 2010 Annual Research Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (pp. 304-313). ACM.
Tholons, (2013). Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations: Rankings and Report Overview. NewYork.
Waema, T. M. (2008). “The Development of National ICT Policy in Kenya: The Influence of Regional Institutions and Key Stakeholders”. In Handbook of research on global information technology management in the digital economy (pp. 38-56).
Waheed, Usman & Molla, Alemayehu (2004). “Information systems outsourcing success: a client-service provider gap analysis in Pakistan”. Information Technology Management, 15(1-2), 1-13.
Walsham, G. & Sahay, S. (2006). “Research on information systems in developing countries: Current landscape and future prospects”. Information Technology for Development, 12(1), 7-24.
Williamson, O. E. (1981). “The economics of organization: The transaction cost approach”. American Journal of Sociology, 87(3), 548-577.